If we stopped emitting greenhouse gases right now, would we stop climate change?
Set aside the politics. If by some miracle we turned off carbon emissions immediately, how would the climate respond?
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Articles on Carbon dioxide
Displaying 1 - 20 of 101 articles
Blocking out the sun to reduce global warming - an idea still in the making
Solar radiation management might be able to reduce some of the risks of global warming while countries get their emissions under control.
Carbon catch-22: the pollution in our soil
Pollution has increased carbon in our soils - which is good for climate change. But this carbon may not stay there for long.
Global stocktake shows the 43 greenhouse gases driving global warming
While the gases most responsible for global warming - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - continue to climb, other industrial greenhouse gases are being brought gradually under control.
The ‘clean coal’ row shouldn’t distract us from using carbon capture for other industries
Carbon capture and storage gets a bad rap from its associations with 'clean coal'. But the technology could prove vital in cutting emissions from other industries like steel, cement and chemicals.
Watching the planet breathe: Studying Earth’s carbon cycle from space
Why use satellites to study Earth's climate? Researchers leading a new mission explain how images from space will help them analyze which parts of the Americas soak up the most carbon.
How climate change threatens to make our bread less tasty
Rising carbon dioxide may be a boon for crop yields, but at the expense of nutritional content and quality.
Methane from food production might be the next wildcard in climate change
Methane concentrations in the atmosphere are growing at a faster rate than any time in the past 20 years.
Australia’s ‘great green boom’ of 2010-11 has been undone by drought
Extreme wet years are getting wetter and more common. This means Australia's terrestrial ecosystems will play a larger role in the global carbon cycle.
We can limit global warming to 1.5°C if we do these things in the next ten years
Phasing out greenhouse gas emissions entirely by mid-century is possible, and promising trends are emerging. But the next five to ten years will be the real test of whether we can make that happen.
Explainer: the search for Earth’s ‘missing fingerprint’
Without understanding why the 'fingerprint' has failed to appear our predictions about global warming - as carbon dioxide concentrations increase - are uncertain.
No, cutting your car’s carbon emissions won’t cost you more
Carbon standards for cars are the cheapest way to cut emissions, and will save drivers money.
Victoria’s renewables target joins an impressive shift towards clean energy
Victoria has announced a renewable energy target of 40% by 2025.
Carbon capture and storage is unlikely to save coal in the long run
Despite advances in technology, carbon capture and storage could be unsettled by renewable upstarts.
New technology offers hope for storing carbon dioxide underground
An Icelandic trial shows carbon dioxide can be pumped underground and stored as rock.
Past, present, future: how human evolution and climate are linked
The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising faster than at any point in the past 55 million years.
Southern hemisphere joins north in breaching carbon dioxide milestone
Atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements at Tasmania's Cape Grim and Antarctica's Casy Station have now officially passed 400 parts per million and are likely to stay above that for decades to come.
Rising carbon dioxide is greening the Earth - but it’s not all good news
Half of the world's vegetated land has got greener in the past 30 years, mostly driven by rising CO2.
Burning fossil fuels is responsible for most sea-level rise since 1970
Global average sea level has risen by about 17 cm between 1900 and 2005, but we didn't know how much of that was due to us, until now.
How exploring Mars could help us fight climate change on Earth
Working out how Mars's carbon dioxide was turned into rock could help with carbon capture efforts on our own planet.
Top contributors
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Pep Canadell is a Friend of The Conversation.CSIRO Scientist, and Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project, CSIRO
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Honorary Fellow, CSIRO
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Research Group Leader, CSIRO
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Director and ARC Laureate Fellow, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW
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Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National University
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CO2Chem Network Manager, University of Sheffield
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Research scientist, NASA
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Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan
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Chair of Geology & Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, University of Melbourne
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Professor, Department of Nuclear Physics, Australian National University
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Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University
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University of Technology Sydney
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Senior lecturer in Marine Ecology & Head of Blue Carbon Lab, Deakin University
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Researcher at the Australian German Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor, School of Geography, University of Melbourne
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